Chapter 115 Mine
"My Lord, we've been watching the show for so long, can we come out for a gathering?"

The clear voice echoed in the woods at night. The moon was low, almost lying on the treetops, illuminating Jiang Li's pretty face.

Her eyes were clear and distinct. Instead of being panicked as if she was at the end of her rope, they looked relaxed and transparent, as if she had everything planned out.

The men in black looked at her, and the leader laughed and said, "Second Miss, why do you have to be so mysterious..."

Before he finished speaking, he heard a soft laugh from the depths of the woods, and a crimson figure gradually walked out of the darkness. Under the moonlight, the darker it was, the more gorgeous his red clothes looked. The moonlight fell on the black and gold butterflies embroidered on the corners of his robe, and those butterflies seemed to be about to spread their wings and fly, looking extremely seductive at this moment.

Ji Heng walked out of the night slowly, holding a golden folding fan, smiling, and said, "I can't hide anything from you."

Jiang Li looked at him and felt slightly relieved.

Ji Heng often likes to send people to keep an eye on him. There is nothing in Tongxiang that he doesn't know. I believe that Feng Yutang's people and Ji Shuran's people coming to surround and kill him are also within Ji Heng's control. This person loves to watch plays the most. Ji Heng will never miss such a wonderful play.

No matter if it was Ji Heng himself or Ji Heng's men watching her, Jiang Li believed that they would not let her out of their sight. After Ji Shuran's men rushed out, she had no way to retreat and could not avoid it. Suddenly, she thought that the person who followed her silently all the way might be able to protect her life.

Even if you can't protect it, it's better to stay and distract the other party.

Fortunately, there was indeed someone following him, and even more fortunately, it was Ji Heng who followed him personally.

With Ji Heng around, Jiang Li felt more at ease. This was actually a very strange idea. Ji Heng was not her friend. Until now, he was still a mysterious man. But Jiang Li had dealt with Ji Heng several times, and Ji Heng had no intention of hurting her. Jiang Li certainly didn't think that this was Ji Heng's sympathy for women. Maybe there was something about her that was worth Ji Heng's use.

It was better to have useful value than nothing. As long as Ji Heng was there, she could be completely sure that she would not be the one to die in today's battle. Not to mention Ji Heng's skilled guards, even the beautiful golden folding fan in his hand, Jiang Li had also seen its power.

He is not a man who will sit and wait for death. Instead, he has deadly moves all over his body. Anyone who looks down on him because of his good looks will be severely hit in the face by danger.

Ji Heng's appearance immediately attracted the attention of the assassins hired by Ji Shuran. Some of them pointed their swords at Ji Heng.

The assassins did not miss Jiang Li's words "Duke". Ji Heng was too beautiful and seductive. She suddenly appeared in the dark woods alone, like a spirit in the forest, with gorgeous danger. Perhaps because assassins have an intuition about danger, the leader in black asked Ji Heng: "Who are you?"

Ji Heng ignored them, looked at Jiang Li with a smile, and said, "The second young lady's acting skills are getting more and more exciting."

"If the show is not exciting, how can it attract adults to watch it?" Jiang Li glanced at the black-clothed leader and smiled even more: "My lord, they are pointing swords at you."

People like Ji Heng may appear smiling but are actually very cruel and ruthless, and have an arrogant temperament. If someone points a sword at him, it might be an insult to Ji Heng.

The black-clad leader caught a glimpse of Ji Heng's eyes and inexplicably wanted to take a step back. The fingers holding the sword curled up unconsciously, as if something was very wrong.

Ji Heng didn't care, she just smiled at Jiang Li and said, "Second Miss, why do you have to divert the trouble? I've said before, I won't get involved in the drama."

"Has His Excellency watched so many of my plays in vain? If I die here today, His Excellency will never be able to see my plays again. Wouldn't you feel a little regretful?" She asked, looking up.

The girl's face was clean, white and tender, and her eyes were bright and beautiful, as if they contained infinite prayers. When she spoke in a soft and pitiful tone, even gods could not help but love her.

However, Ji Heng is not a god, he is a demon who is even more cruel than a god.

He just looked at Jiang Li with a smile and said, "It's a pity, but I don't want to be in the role."

Jiang Li's pleading expression disappeared in an instant. It was hard to imagine that she could withdraw from that touching state so quickly.

Jiang Li looked at Ji Heng, feeling a little annoyed. In her previous life, when she was Xue Fangfei, she was very pretty, although she didn't think it was anything special. But most of the time when she was out, she was able to get along smoothly because of her good looks. When she had a conflict with someone, the other party would not pursue her relentlessly after seeing her face.

A beauty only needs to act coquettishly, and everything will be easy to get. She didn't like to use this method, so Xue Zhao always said that she wasted such a beautiful appearance in vain, and she didn't even make a name for herself as a witch who brought disaster to the country and the people.

Now she was in a lower position and had to act pitiful and lovely, but it was not just because the other party was too hard-hearted or because Miss Jiang's appearance was not stunningly beautiful, so she did not impress him at all. Instead, she got such a sober answer.

It's so discouraging.

Ji Heng still looked at her with a smile, and he said it lightly, and he didn't seem to think that there was anything wrong with not helping her. Under a pair of narrow phoenix eyes, the bright red teardrop mole also had infinite charm, slowly emitting an alluring scenery in the night.

The black-clothed leader seemed to come to his senses at this moment. He first said to Ji Heng: "Since you have no conflict with us, things will be easy." Then he looked at Jiang Li and said: "Second Miss, your reinforcements don't seem to intend to help you, so we won't waste time. Come on!" After that, perhaps because he was afraid that Ji Heng's appearance would lead to more trouble, he rushed straight towards Jiang Li. The tip of the sword flashing with silver light brought murderous aura in the night, causing the leaves to fall down!

Seeing that the situation could not be reversed and the people around her were still watching calmly, Jiang Li made up her mind and said loudly without hesitation: "My Lord, I know why you want to get involved with the Right Prime Minister Cheng Wang. The court is now divided into three parties. Although His Majesty is in decline, he is not an ordinary person. He is just suspicious by nature. If you want His Majesty to trust you alone, you must support Cheng Wang to stand up. There are wolves in front and tigers behind. His Majesty will definitely rely on you in a hurry. You can be the first among the court officials. This three-way situation in the court is caused by you, My Lord!"

Jiang Li spoke these words quickly and urgently, and the men in black who came to assassinate her were stunned. What is the connection between becoming a king and right prime minister?
The smile on Ji Heng's lips seemed to freeze into ice in an instant.

As soon as Jiang Li finished speaking, a sword tip appeared in front of her, and someone behind her stabbed at her with a sword. If she rushed forward, she would die, and if she retreated, she would die. The same thing happened both ways!
Just at this moment, a slender hand suddenly reached out, grasped her shoulder and gently pushed her to the side. The next moment, a peony bloomed brightly, and Ji Heng opened his fan.

The front end of the fan suddenly became like a sharp blade. Jiang Li could only see the fan swinging back and forth. As it opened and closed, the gold embroidery thread on the peony petals flashed a tiny gleam of light. In an instant, there was a loud "bang", and the two men in black who had surrounded Jiang Li, one in front and one behind, fell to the ground with surprised looks on their faces, as if they were still confused about the cause of their own death at the last moment of their lives.

The men in black around were temporarily shocked by the situation here.

No one even saw clearly how Ji Heng made the move. Ji Heng's movements were too fast. Jiang Li stared straight at Ji Heng's fan. She saw the power of the fan again. Or maybe it wasn't that the fan was too scary, but that the man in front of her was really scary.

"Brothers, no matter what, let's go together!" The leader in black gritted his teeth and suddenly called on the people behind him to come together!
Jiang Li barely escaped, and then she saw murderous intent coming from all directions. Without thinking, she immediately grabbed the corner of Ji Heng's clothes. Ji Heng was dangerous, but the enemy of my enemy was my friend. The only one who could protect her safety for the time being was Ji Heng!
Ji Heng glanced at her coldly, and before he could say anything, the black-clad men in front of him were already rushing over. He sneered, and the fan in his hand was fully opened. He grabbed Jiang Li's collar by the back of her neck with one hand, and quickly retreated with Jiang Li. His movements were so fast that it was difficult to see clearly. All that could be seen clearly was the black butterflies dancing on the corners of his robe, which had a strong and strange charm.

Under the night sky, he moved extremely fast, and the fan in his hand was like some kind of terrible weapon. As he raised and lowered the fan, and opened and closed it, large pieces of blood burst out, like peach blossoms in May. The tiny flashes of light on the fan made people's backs cold.

Screams rose one after another in the woods. At this moment, this place was like hell on earth.

Jiang Li subconsciously moved closer to Ji Heng, but she felt that his clothes were cold, as if he was not a human being, and there was no warmth at all.

After an unknown amount of time, the screams outside disappeared, and Ji Heng's movements also stopped.

Ji Heng's mocking voice sounded above her head: "Second Miss Jiang, the place has been cleaned up."

Jiang Li slowly loosened her hands, raised her head and looked around.

Under the moonlight, the bodies of men in black were scattered all over the ground, and the ground was covered with blood, just like the hell on earth painted on the murals in the temple.

Ji Heng killed more than ten people by himself, and it seemed like only a quarter of an hour had passed.

Jiang Li turned and looked at Ji Heng.

The moon slowly climbed up the branches again, as if the situation before it was not horrible enough. The moonlight was exceptionally bright. The pure moonlight mixed with the bloodstains on the ground made it hard to tell whether this was a nightmare or reality.

Ji Heng was standing in the blood. His robe was bright red, making people wonder if the red color was dyed with blood on the ground. But he held a folding fan, as if he didn't feel how uncomfortable it was. He just looked at Jiang Li and said, "Second Miss Jiang, shouldn't you thank me?"

Jiang Li was speechless.

The next moment, the fan suddenly pressed against Jiang Li's throat. Ji Heng did not approach, he even kept a certain distance from Jiang Li, but his expression was unusually cold. From the time he met Ji Heng until now, he was always smiling and lazy, even though he knew it was his disguise. But when the poisonous beast really showed its claws, anyone would feel chilled.

Jiang Li would also find it scary.

"Miss Jiang Er, I've told you before that I don't like to get involved in a play. Why do you have to drag me into it?" His voice was soft, like the lingering whispers between lovers, but it contained an inexplicable chill that climbed up people's spines inch by inch, making their backs feel cold.

"I can't help it." Jiang Li looked him straight in the eyes. Her voice was a little soft, as if she was truly sorry. She said, "I don't want to die."

Just now, she could clearly feel that Ji Heng really didn't intend to take action, and just planned to just stand by and watch. But she couldn't let this happen. If Ji Heng didn't take action, she would have to die here. Her father was still in prison, and the truth of Xue Zhao's death had not yet been revealed. She couldn't die here, at least not now. So she had to take action.

So she could only tell the secret that she had already seen.

She didn't know when it started, but one day when she was thinking about the relationship between Ji Heng, King Cheng, the Emperor and Jiang Yuanbo, she suddenly understood it. There was nothing special, she just understood it suddenly.

The court is now divided into three factions: King Cheng, Jiang Yuanbo, and Emperor Hongxiao. But before King Cheng joined forces with the Right Prime Minister, the court was not as stable as it is now. At that time, the court could only be considered two factions. There was a teacher-student relationship between Jiang Yuanbo and Emperor Hongxiao. If Jiang Yuanbo did not have the intention of treason, Emperor Hongxiao would not be too afraid.

But then King Cheng suddenly joined forces with the Right Prime Minister, and the balance of the court was broken. King Cheng's power instigated a conflict between Jiang Yuanbai and Emperor Hong Xiao. The friendship between teacher and student was still there, but the trust was gone. Jiang Li believed that if one day the Jiang family really had evidence of treason, Emperor Hong Xiao would not hesitate to put Jiang Yuanbai in prison.

It is impossible for Emperor Hong Xiao to join forces with Jiang Yuanbai, but Emperor Hong Xiao's power is gradually declining. However, Jiang Li felt from the last time that Emperor Hong Xiao, whose biological mother Concubine Xia died early, is not as easy to manipulate as he seems. Perhaps Ji Heng saw Emperor Hong Xiao's ambition and decided to stand on his side.

There are some people in the world who do their best to do their best. Just being one of the ministers of Emperor Hong Xiao is obviously not what Ji Heng wants. Ji Heng hopes to become the confidant of Emperor Hong Xiao and the person that Emperor Hong Xiao trusts the most. Although she doesn't know why, Jiang Li is sure that Ji Heng supports Cheng Wang just to achieve this goal.

That is to say, at the beginning, Ji Heng tried to support King Cheng and let King Cheng and the Right Prime Minister join forces to become a threat to the Jiang family. King Cheng instigated the separation between Emperor Hong Xiao and Jiang Yuanbo, and the entire court became the three-part division that Ji Heng hoped for. The isolated Emperor Hong Xiao chose to trust Ji Heng and made Ji Heng his confidant. Jiang Li felt a little scared when she thought of this. Ji Heng's plan, if told to others, I'm afraid no one would believe it. After all, this requires a long-term vision, precise planning, and the courage to be fearless. But he did it anyway, and he succeeded.

When Jiang Li got a glimpse of this secret, she knew that she must keep it in her heart forever and never tell it out loud. She knew what Ji Heng was planning, but she didn't mention it at all when she confronted Ji Heng, because she knew that once Ji Heng knew that her secret was discovered, the first thing she would do was to kill her.

Disease comes from the mouth, and disaster comes from the mouth. Choose your food and you will not get sick, choose your words and you will not get into trouble. This was Jiang Li's idea, but man proposes, God disposes. She didn't expect to be forced into a dead end tonight. Ji Heng was by her side, but she had no intention of taking action. So she could only kill with a borrowed knife.

She revealed Ji Heng's secret to the public in front of those killers. Ji Heng would never allow anyone who knew his secret to live in the world, and those killers were destined to be silenced.

"Miss Jiang Er, you have to know," he said slowly, "when someone is killed, no one will be left alive."

He could kill those assassins, and he could also kill her. First, she knew Ji Heng's secret, and second, she actually used Ji Heng's secret to plot against Ji Heng. These two charges alone were enough to make her have no reason to live.

The fan was cold, and it rested against her fragile neck. His eyes lingered on Jiang Li's neck, as if with a hint of lingering lust, but a closer look revealed indifference and cruelty. The fan was approaching inch by inch, and the feeling of death was so clear that Jiang Li could hear the sound of her own heartbeat, but her voice was very calm.

"Duke, I don't want to die, otherwise I wouldn't have said those words," she said.

"Give me a reason why you don't have to die." Ji Heng looked at him.

"If the Duke wants His Majesty to trust him, he will have to pit King Cheng against the Jiang family. Supporting King Cheng is not the goal, but the purpose of supporting him is to solve the problem better." Jiang Li said, "I can make it impossible for the Jiang family and King Cheng to repair the relationship, and I can weaken King Cheng's power."

Ji Heng laughed: "How do you do it?"

"In the Xue family case, Feng Yutang is just a cover, the person behind it is Yongning." Jiang Li lowered her eyes. Ji Heng probably knew that this case was related to Yongning a long time ago, so she didn't need to hide anything. She continued: "I want to take on the Xue family case. Sooner or later, I will face Yongning, and King Cheng will fight to the death. No matter how my father thinks of me, my last name is Jiang, and King Cheng will put this account on the Jiang family. King Cheng and the Jiang family will become rivals. I am a member of the Jiang family, and I will help the Jiang family deal with King Cheng."

"How do you deal with King Cheng?" Ji Heng said, "You are only fifteen years old now."

Jiang Li only said four words: "Use whatever means necessary."

Ji Heng was silent for a while, and then said, "Whether it's the Jiang family or King Cheng, in the end, they can't stay."

This is what Jiang Li had guessed before. Ji Heng supported King Cheng and instigated the Jiang family in order to make King Cheng and the Jiang family confront each other and wear each other down, so that the power of Emperor Hong Xiao would increase. She was determined to deal with King Cheng, but the Jiang family was also in danger.

To be fair, although she was not the real Second Miss Jiang, she had done a lot of things with Jiang Yuanbo's reputation. Except for Ji Shuran and her daughter and Jiang Yu'e, the others in the Jiang family did not get along well with her, but they did not harm her either. If the Jiang family really fell, she would have no chance of survival.

She had to protect the Jiang family before taking revenge on Yongning and Shen Yurong.

"My Lord, I don't know what your ultimate goal is, but if the Jiang family falls, there will be a second Jiang family sooner or later." Jiang Li said softly: "Keep the Jiang family, in case the Jiang family becomes your helper in the future, where are your reinforcements?"

Her earnest words did not move Ji Heng, who just smiled and said, "I don't need any help or reinforcements."

Jiang Li: “…”

But she thought it was normal, because it was hard to imagine Ji Heng having friends and a warm family. It was also unbelievable to think about a venomous snake living with a group of Mianyang.

"You haven't convinced me yet," Ji Heng reminded her, "the reason for not killing you."

"I can't find a reason." Jiang Li looked at him calmly: "Because of these reasons, I can't even convince myself. But I have unfinished business, and I don't want to die now. If the Duke insists on not letting me go, I hope you can give me some time. I will stay here. After I have done what I should do, I will personally offer this life to you. I hope the Duke will accept it with a smile."

Ji Heng looked at her and said with a smile: "What if I say no?"

Jiang Li was silent again.

After a while, she said, "If it really doesn't work, then please do it, my lord the Duke. In fact, I have gained something. If the lord the Duke hadn't shown up today, I would have died at the hands of these people, and perhaps my death would have been very undignified. It is my honor to die at the hands of the Duke now, not to mention that there are so many people buried with them, it's not a loss to think about it. Thank you for taking care of me these days, my lord the Duke. If there is an afterlife, Jiang Li will repay you again." After saying this, Jiang Li really closed her eyes, raised her head slightly and waited for Ji Heng to make her move.

The fan moved on her jade-like neck, like a sharp weapon to harvest life. Her facial features were distinct, clean and delicate, like a fairy child in the mountains. Her mouth was small and rosy, and she looked a little stubborn when she pursed it. Her long eyelashes seemed to be covered with a layer of light dew, about to fall, and trembled slightly, so pitiful.

Ji Heng's fan moved and gradually deepened. It was not a gorgeous folding fan, it was more ferocious than a knife.

The poisonous snake wrapped around its prey, bared its fangs, and venom dripped down. The white rabbit huddled into a ball, looking pitiful and cautious, hoping for a glimmer of hope.

It approached slowly, its tongue was cold, its eyes were cold too, and it only needed a light bite and the rabbit would be unable to move.

But it suddenly shook off its tail, turned its head, and swam away.

Jiang Li only felt the fan on her neck lighten, and in an instant she felt nothing. She raised her head and saw Ji Heng's plain profile.

Ji Heng said: "You are the first person who thanked me after being killed by me."

Jiang Li said: "Really? It's my honor too."

"You have such a sweet mouth," Ji Heng raised the corner of her lips, "Are you always like this?"

"No, I only do this to the Duke." Jiang Li nodded, and breathed a sigh of relief. She won the bet after all. She thought that Ji Heng was a person who would not be persuaded by soft or hard tactics, but Ji Heng was not a madman who would kill anyone he saw. Although outsiders said that he was moody, in fact, if someone provoked Ji Heng, Ji Heng would take the other person's life.

Once he showed himself to be completely harmless and docile, with no effect on Ji Heng, he would not bother to attack himself.

"I know you're not as harmless and docile as you look," Ji Heng said suddenly, as if he could predict what she was thinking. "You've also inadvertently ruined many of my plans. I don't like to show mercy. But," he suddenly looked at Jiang Li, his eyes clear and deep: "You've dragged me into the drama."

"I want to see this play to the end, you can't die at the most exciting moment." Ji Heng said: "So I will leave your life to you for now. When you finish your business, I will come to take it."

Jiang Li asked: "What if what I do takes a very long time to accomplish?"

"Then wait." Ji Heng said, "I have patience, you know."

Jiang Li was silent. Ji Heng was indeed very patient. He had started making arrangements long before King Cheng became a great king. No one cared about these things at that time. He had supported King Cheng step by step until he became a man that no one dared to underestimate. The Jiang family's current restraint was all due to this person.

He has more patience than anyone else, and there is probably nothing he cannot accomplish.

But Jiang Li was already very satisfied. It didn't matter if she was still alive or if Ji Heng would take her away someday. She didn't have to die now. She wanted to live, to rescue Xue Huaiyuan from prison, to reveal the true identity of Yongning and Shen Yurong, and to avenge Xue Zhao.

Everything can only be accomplished if one is alive. Ji Heng was able to prevent her from dying among the people arranged by Ji Shuran today, and was able to give her the life to avenge her. She had no reason to resent Ji Heng.

The road ahead is long, but as long as you keep your life, you will always be able to get out of the situation.

"These people..." Jiang Li looked at the corpses on the ground.

"Don't worry about it." Ji Heng looked at her: "Perhaps you want to pretend and send it back to Ji Shuran in Yanjing?"

Jiang Li thought about it seriously and said, "No need. If I send her back, she will know that the plan has failed and will inevitably think of other ways. I am really powerless. It is better to let her think that everything has succeeded. When I return to Yanjing, she will naturally be surprised, which is also a happy thing."

Ji Heng nodded happily: "That makes sense."

"What is the Duke's plan now?" Jiang Li asked, "I have to go back. I don't know how my uncle is doing now. Feng Yutang's people are determined to kill me. I'm afraid my uncle is in danger."

"Ye Mingyu is fine." Ji Heng said, "Feng Yutang's men, the three best assassins in Yongning Kung Fu, came to chase you, but you trapped them in the swamp." He glanced at Jiang Li meaningfully, and then said, "The rest of them are not reliable, Ye Mingyu can handle them."

Jiang Li was relieved when she heard Ji Heng say this. If Ye Mingyu got into trouble because of her, Jiang Li would blame herself. Ji Heng would not lie about this, so Jiang Li still believed him.

"Let's go." Ji Heng said, motioning her to ride forward.

Jiang Li was stunned. When she was escaping in a hurry, she twisted her foot and it was inconvenient for her to walk. She wanted to endure it, but Ji Heng saw it. But now was not the time to act pretentiously, so Jiang Li didn't think much about it, propped herself up, and climbed onto the horse.

Ji Heng walked slowly beside him, while Jiang Li sat on the horse's back, holding the reins. The two of them were in a more harmonious relationship than ever before.

"Duke, I have something to ask you." Jiang Li said softly, "This life is lent to me, but what if I die before I give it to you?"

"That's impossible." Ji Heng didn't even turn his head. His red robe shone brightly in the night. He said, "No one else can take my things. That includes your life."

(End of this chapter)